Let Me Introduce Myself...

Hi, I’m Christina, so nice to meet you! Thank you for finding your way to my blog. I believe and pray that the Lord has brought you here so that we may be able to encourage one another, pray for each other and grow from life’s many different experiences.

I have had my fair share of ups and downs in my life. I’ll go into more detail as my blogging grows and the Lord puts them on my heart to share. I believe that the Lord has a plan for my life and for your life.

Jeremiah 29:11 ‘For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord…’

We may not know why things happen the way they do, but in the end, there is a reason and a lesson to be learned. The Lord uses these instances to help us draw closer and closer to Him.
I moved into a new season of my life in May of 2007 when the Lord told me to pack my things and move to Nashville… not to become a country music star, but to start a new life focused on Him. I had been praying for new opportunities and asking the Lord to show me what to do with my life and when the doors opened, I obeyed what He told me. I was talking with a friend last night and at one point she said, “When you are praying for something and the Lord decides the time is right, He moves quickly.” This is so true, I had been praying that April and in May the doors opened and the timing was perfect. The Lord showed me what I had to do…

That was the best thing I could have done with my life at that point.

Since moving, I have found a church that I am so happy to be able to call my ‘home’ and friends who I am happy to call my ‘family’. I thank the Lord for each of these and feel so grateful for what He has unveiled in my life thus far.
Not my entire Nashville journey has been happy, but I am learning to seek out the positive in each experience, good or bad. Make them something to learn from so I can grow and put it to use in my life… and hopefully encourage others.

I grew up in a loving Christian home and attended a private school all through grade school. That was a blessing in itself, to have grown up with a solid foundation to learn and grow from. The Lord really knew what He was doing with my life. I know now that He used that to help prepare me for my future and the things to come and the experiences He knew that I would deal with. But I also know that He won’t give me anything I can not handle. Sometimes it feels like it, trust me, I know that. I’ve been there. I’ve wanted to throw my hands up in the air and give up many times (and I have), but He’s always been by my side, reminding me to rely on Him. That He will help me through. My faith and my trust have been tested on many levels.

Back in early high school I was diagnosed (or whatever you want to call it) with Degenerative Disc Disease, a ruptured disc, and some other things. I never really understood what it was, I just knew that my back was always sore and felt stiff. I didn’t think much of it then. My grandma and my dad also have this disease, so I have learned a lot and seen a lot of pain and suffering from them. I remember when my dad started getting worse and starting talking about surgery. A time that replays in my mind is seeing him use my grandma’s walker to get around the house. We had to move a mattress downstairs because he couldn’t climb the stairs anymore. I came home from class one day and saw him lying on the floor, he asked me to please go buy the bendable straws because he couldn’t lift his head without excruciating pain anymore. I hurried down to the store to get some straws. It was so hard seeing him in pain, but through the pain he was an example to me. He was on the floor for 20+ days and finally had surgery in Germany. He had 3 artificial discs placed in his back… Degenerative Disc is when your discs, which are between each of your vertebrae in your spine, start deteriorating and eventually disintegrate. Leaving you with bone on bone, which is obviously very painful. My dad had great success with his surgery which was a huge answer to prayer.

I’m not one that likes to focus on myself, so this is hard to talk about. Not just because it’s about me but because I always feel like I’m complaining… but here goes…

As time has gone on, my back has gotten progressively worse. I have tried to ignore the pain, brush it off, and go on with life. I’ve been to the chiropractor, I’ve had numerous epidural steroid injections, done physical therapy over the years and nothing helped ease the pain. I got to the point last December where I was tired of hurting and had to do something. I needed some kind of relief.
After much discussion and prayer, I decided to go ahead and have surgery. January ’08 I had a Bilateral Microdiscectomy. My doctor went in to “clean off” the ruptured disc. What’s a ruptured disc, you ask? Your discs are filled with a jelly-like substance and if/when your disc ruptures that substance protrudes out. In my case, it was protruding and hitting a nerve. So, they performed surgery to try and ease my pain and fix the ruptured disc. I got some relief, but a few months later I started getting worse, went back to the ago, and found out the disc had re-ruptured.

O why, God? Why can’t I be healed? Aren’t you the Great Physician? You don’t want me to suffer, do you? Don’t you care? Hear my cry, Lord!

I knew something was wrong because my symptoms were getting worse. My sciatic nerve was aggravated, my legs were hurting, I couldn’t stand for more then five minutes without sharp, shooting pains down my legs, and my left foot would go numb. So, we made a trip back to the doctor a couple months ago and he offered to do surgery again. Either the same surgery, a fusion, which he is really pushing, or ADR (artificial disc replacement – which is what my dad had done). I left the office masking my emotions and wanting to really think about these options.
I still have not made a decision; I am still praying and seeking the Lord for guidance. I don’t want to make a rash decision and do something I’m going to regret. So, for now I am waiting it out and coping with the pain as best I can.

Living with chronic pain is difficult, I won’t lie. I’m sure most of you had heard stories or know someone who has lived with this. I could sit and go on an on about the emotions and what I’m learning through the whole process, but that would take all of your time. That is the reason for this blog. So I can share my thoughts and emotions as time goes on and the Lord puts them on my heart to write about.

Until then, joining me in prayer and believing with me for healing would be much appreciated.

Psalms 103:2, 3

‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits: who forgives all your iniquities; who heals all your diseases.